GETTING COMPETITIVE EDGE THROUGH FISH CONSUMPTION

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 15 (Antara) - In order to be able to compete globally in all sectors, a country should have human resources of good quality.          In the current globalized world, Indonesia should develop its human resources. It should prepare its younger generation to face increasingly stiff competition in the future.          As a maritime country, Indonesia is also rich in fish potentials, which could provide adequate protein and help increase the quality of its human resources.          Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Susi Pudjiastuti stated that the increase in fish consumption level will improve the quality of the nation's human resources, in order to help Indonesia face the globalization era.          Pudjiastuti, in a written statement received in Jakarta on Monday, noted that the Indonesian people should eat healthy foods which are rich in protein, in order to be competitive in the era of globalization.         "This is to produce competitive human resources. It should not happen that Indonesia, which is a big county, lacks good quality human resources," the minister remarked.          Based on the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry data, the current national per capita fish consumption is about 43.34 kilograms per year, or an increase from the figure of 36 kilograms per capita per year in 2016.

BIAK HOLDS CONTEST TO SUPPORT EAT-FISH PROGRAM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 25 (Antara) - The level of nutritional intake or even malnutrition of people is much decided by their consumption of food and protein found in meat, including fish meat.          Hence, Biak District of Papua Province is holding a fish cooking contest to help promote the government's eat-fish program.          The government has been promoting fish consumption for the past several years through its People's Eat-Fish Movement (Gemarikan) and the establishment of Fish Consumption Enhancement Forum (Forikan), as fish is one of the best sources of nutrition.          Lack of nutrition can cause chronic malnutrition which could affect a child, resulting in stunted growth. In order to prevent chronic malnutrition, people are urged to increase their fish consumption level.          The protein in fish meat is needed to support health, particularly the growth of children. Moreover, stunted growth in Indonesia still accounts in about 27.5 percent of the population. The figure is actually a decline from 37.2 percent over the past three years.          "We continue to monitor the nutritional status over the past three years. It has dropped to 27.5 percent from 37.2 percent. Though the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) data shows 29.6 percent, yet it still shows a decline," Health Minister Nila Moeloek said at the Vice Presidential Office on Wednesday (July 12).

GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO PROMOTE FISH CONSUMPTION PROGRAM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 8 (Antara) - The government of Indonesia, which is an island country rich in various fish resources, continues to promote its fish consumption program as part of its efforts to build the nation's healthy and smart human resources.          The government has set up forums in different levels from the central government to regional administrations in provinces, districts, municipalities, and sub-districts as a means of implementing the program to promote fish consumption.          The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP), along with a number of partners, has successfully established fish consumption promotion forums (Forikan) in 34 provinces in order to increase national fish consumption rate.          "In addition to the national level, Forikan forums are also formed at the provincial, district, municipality, and sub-district levels," Director General for Improvement of Maritime and Fisheries Product Competitiveness, Nilanto Perbowo, said at a National Coordination Meeting of the KKP in Jakarta on Thursday (April 6).          Until now, Forikan forums have been established in 34 provinces, 228 districts/municipalities, and 113 sub-districts.

EAT MORE FISH, REDUCE BEEF IMPORTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 25 (Antara) - As Indonesia is rich in fish, it expects the people to become less dependent on imported beef and rather increase their fish consumption.          Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Mahyudin called on the government to encourage fish consumption, as it would reduce the dependence on meat imports.          The Industry Ministry also advocated encouraging  fish consumption in various regions. "We will boost fish consumption, apart from exporting fish, by developing the traditional fish industry," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said recently.          The government continues to encourage people to consume more fish and has set a target to increase the country's per capita fish consumption to about 43.88 kilogram (kg) per annum from 30.47 kg recorded in 2010 and 41.11 kg in 2015.         Indonesia still imports about 40 percent of its beef needs for domestic consumption. Its domestic need for meat has reached about 600 thousand tons per annum or about 4 million heads of cattle.

PEOPLE URGED TO EAT MORE FISH

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 19 (Antara) - The people are advised to eat more fish, as part of the efforts to increase their nutritional and protein intake, improve their health, bring progress to the fisheries sector and reduce beef imports.          The Industry Ministry encouraged increased consumption of fish in various regions to raise domestic demand for fish, in an effort to boost the maritime and fisheries sector.       "We will boost fish consumption, apart from exports, through developing the traditional fish industry, which would increase the demand in the country's fisheries sector," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said last week.          Besides that, consuming fish could also reduce dependence on beef imports. Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Mahyudin called on the government to encourage fish consumption through various policies by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP). Raising fish consumption would reduce dependence on meat imports.         "The price of beef during the recent Eid Adha festivities was recorded at Rp150 thousand per kilogram, while the price of tongkol (a kind of tuna) fish was only Rp20 thousand per kilogram. But, people still prefer beef because they are too much dependent on it," Mahyudin said on Thursday (Nov 17).

INDONESIA NEEDS TO DEVELOP FISHERY INDUSTRY

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 6 (Antara) - It is very reasonable for Indonesia to aim to become the biggest fish processing industrial center in the world as two-thirds of its territory is covered with water, which can be tapped for fisheries resources.         Fisheries and marine resources, in general, should contribute two-thirds of the economic resources to the country's economic development. However, the country cannot exploit its maritime potential maximally yet.         The present government has turned to the sea to tap resources for the development of the country's economy, including the fisheries sector.         However, not much progress has been made for the development of the country's downstream fisheries, such as the development of the fish processing industry.         Some have assessed that in the upstream sector, the government has shown progress in fighting illegal fishing, banning transshipment at sea, disallowing the operations of fishing vessels of certain tonnage, and prohibiting the use of certain fishing devices.         However, in the downstream sector, the government still has to work hard to encourage the development of fish industries, such as fish-processing businesses. This is expected to stop the fish de-industrialization trend.

EATING FISH FOR HEALTH, AND TO IMPROVE INTELLIGENCE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 27 (Antara) - 'Eat Fish for Building Intelligence, Health, and Strength.' There was a time when the former fisheries product processing and marketing director general of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Saut Hutagalung, loved to propagate this slogan.          Indonesian people are fond of going out in search of culinary delicacies and lazily sample the treats at different food stalls, eateries or restaurants. Seafood and fish figure among the culinary delicacies on any menu. Luckily, Indonesia is an island country with vast seas and abundant fish resources.          But has Saut's slogan encouraged them to go out on a food hunt or to eat fish? Eating fish meets both the needs---keeping a good health and pampering a growling stomach.          Saut is now an expert staff for economic, social and cultural affairs of the KKP. Since he echoed the slogan two years ago, several fish eating campaigns have been organized, including in the Jambi province and in the Lebak District, Banten Province.  A most recent one was held in Muntok, Bangka Belitung province.

FISH INDUSTRY TO FOCUS ON EASTERN REGION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 4 (Antara) - The Indonesian eastern region is rich in natural and maritime resources but it is relatively less developed if compared with the western part of the country.         As part of its efforts to carry out even development, President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) government is looking to the regions outside Java, particularly the eastern region.         In the field of fish industry, President Jokowi has the target to shift the focus of fish industrial development from Java to the eastern region of the country. The present government's concept necessitates that fish industry should not be concentrated on Java.        Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti therefore wanted the development of fishery processing centers to be shifted to regions outside Java such as Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.         According to  Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for Eastern Indonesia Andi Rukman Karumpa, Minister Susi's idea was in line with the maritime development vision of President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

INDONESIA TO MONITOR UNITED STATES' SIMP PLAN ON FISH IMPORTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 12 (Antara) - The United States is one of Indonesia's main fish export destination nations, as since 2015, the country has exempted its fish import duties through the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) mechanism.         However, Indonesia's fish exports to the United States might drop as the latter will, in the near future, impose a stringent rule on its fish imports through a seafood import monitoring program (SIMP) plan.          The US government is drafting a bill that will impose stricter conditions, such as the obligation of the fishermen of exporting countries to explain the location of fish catch and the types of fishing vessels and nets they used to catch the fish. Moreover, the fishermen will be required to provide details on their fish processing mechanism.         Based on the data from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, as quoted by the Tribun-Medan.com on March 14, the value of Indonesia's fish exports to the United States dropped by 37.5 percent from US$1.84 billion in 2014 to $1.15 billion in 2015.

LOGISTICS SYSTEM NEEDS IMPROVEMENT TO REDUCE FISH IMPORTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 10 (Antara) - Certain fishery units in the country still import fish as raw material for their production amid efforts to boost fish output at home and improve the welfare of local fishermen.          Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti admitted that there were fishery units which still rely on imports but the number of these industries is small. Different restaurants also still import salmon fish to serve their customers.          Fish imports have been going on from the past, Susi said. "Fish imports have been there from the past, but now it is more open to the public," Minister Susi told the Parliament during a hearing with Commission IV on agricultural affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta Wednesday (June 8).          Therefore, the government will improve the logistics in the fishery sector in an effort to reduce fish imports. The improvement of the logistics mechanism in the maritime and fisheries sector will reduce the import of the commodity in the future.          "If the logistics system is good, the import of fish will come down," Minister Susi said.

RI ENCOURAGES FISH STOCKING TO MAINTAIN FISHERY RESOURCES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 1 (Antara) - The Indonesian government continues to encourage eco-friendly cultured fish development and has begun fish restocking as part of its efforts to maintain the sustainability of its environment and fishery resources.         Director General of Cultured Fish of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Slamet Soebjakto affirmed that eco-friendly and sustainable development of fisheries is being carried out in line with the directives of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.         "Based on the directives of Minister Susi, the development of cultured fish must not harm the environment, but it should support the sustainability of nature and fishery resources. Thus, fish restocking is also being carried out to achieve the two objectives," Soebjakto noted in a written statement recently.      According to the director general, the cultured fish sector should continue to be boosted in an effort to maintain its sustainability through restocking activities aimed at preserving and enriching the natural fishery resources.

GOVT ASKED TO MAINTAIN TUNA EXPORT VOLUME

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 21 (Antara) - Being one of the backbones of Indonesian fishery exports, tuna fish production and export volumes should be increased and maintained to contribute foreign exchange to the country.          Up till the first quarter of 2015, based on the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesia¿s trade balance in fishery exports had recorded a surplus. Tuna exports contributed the biggest value after shrimps, namely US$89.42 million.          "This tuna export value was recorded in the first quarter of 2015," the Director General for Fish Processing and Marketing of the Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry (KKP) said while inaugurating the International Coastal Tuna Business Forum In Bali last May. He was representing the KKP Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti.          According to the Director General, the government is paying a special attention to the development of the tuna industry in Indonesia as it has played an important role in the nation's economy.

GOVT SEEKS TO REDUCE FISH MEAL IMPORTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 8 (Antara) - The government is encouraging production of fish meals using local raw materials to reduce fish meal imports and cut fish cultivation expenses as meals so far account for about 80 percent of the total costs.         "We must seek ways of utilizing our rich local raw materials to produce  fish meals on our own that would benefit both fish meal industry and cultured fish farmers," Director General for Cultured Fish of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) Slamet Soebjakto, said on Tuesday.          For this purpose, the KKP will strengthen the network and coordination among fish farmers and local fish meal producers, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (UKM).         By producing fish meals from local raw materials both UKM or individuals and fish breeders will enjoy benefit as the production cost could significantly be cut.          As regards, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti expressed the desire that the cost of fish cultivation should be reduced to 60 percent.  Slamet said fish meal production facility should be accorded priority because meals account for the biggest cost component in the fish culture sector.

MINISTRY TO IDENTIFY CONTAMINATED WATERS TO PROTECT HEALTHY FISH STOCKS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 2 (Antara) - The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry will map out polluted areas in the Indonesian waters and take necessary steps to preserve the water quality to ensure healthy fish populations.          "We will collect data on polluted areas in the Indonesian waters that contain hazardous waste materials," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti stated on Tuesday.          The minister made the statement in response to the incident wherein thousands of fish had been stranded ashore and had died at the Ancol Dream Land beach in North Jakarta on Monday.          The deteriorating water quality and climate change phenomenon are believed to be the reasons behind the mass death of fish.          Officials of the Water Police Directorate General (Ditpolair) of the Jakarta Regional Police suspect that hazardous liquid wastes settling on the seabed are causing the mass death of fish.          "We suspect that the sediments of poisonous wastes in river estuaries are being carried down to the seabed," Head of the Law Enforcement Affairs of the Ditpolair Commissioner Edi Guritno claimed on Monday.

INDONESIA DOES NOT NEED TO IMPORT FISH

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 3 (Antara) - As part of the government's economic policy packages, the Minister of Trade has issued Trade Minister's Decree No. 87/2015 which regulates the import of certain products, including processed fish.          However, some quarters hold that the decree will disadvantage local manufacturing industry and domestic fish products.          A number of associations from the industrial circle have asked the government to cancel the Trade Minister's decree because they thought it would threaten the national industry and make domestic products less competitive.          "We have strongly stated that the Trade Minister's decree which was issued on October 15, 2015 is not siding with the domestic industry at all," General Chairwoman of the Indonesian Cosmetics Companies and Association, Putri K Wardani, said on Monday (Oct 26).          Even Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti was upset, saying she was not involved in the decision making on an issue that partly concerned fishery products.          She said that twice in the past, her ministry was not consulted while formulating trade regulations on goods which also included products under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Marine Affairs Fishery Resources. The first instance was when a regulation regarding import of salt was formulated, and the second was regarding a trade regulation about processed fish import.

INDONESIA SHOULD FURTHER INCREASE FISH CONSUMPTION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 24 (Antara) - Despite 70 percent of Indonesia's 5.2 million-square-kilometer area being covered by water and having abundant fish stocks, yet it is unable to fully and sustainably exploit its sea wealth and has low fish consumption.        Thus, the government is encouraging the people to eat more fish, which is rich in protein and nutrition and is considered to help in brain development.          "Therefore, we have the slogan: 'Eat Fish for Building Intelligence, Health, and Strength.' The growth of brain cells is supported by protein, which comes from different sources such as fish. Fish contains Omega3 for brain growth," Director General for Processing and Marketing of Fisheries Products of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Saut Hutagalung stated in Jambi Province over the weekend.          Saut, who was attending the "Foreikan Jamboree" held in Jambi to observe the National Fish Day, said that human brain cells need high supply of protein, particularly newly born infants. The development of brain cells can be boosted by consuming fish.          Unfortunately, Indonesian people still consume less fish. The per capita fish consumption of Indonesian people per year is still about 38 kilograms, which is much smaller as compared to the average fish consumption of the Japanese, which reaches 50 kilograms.

PEOPLE CONSUME MORE FISH DURING FASTING MONTH

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 29 (Antara) - As fish is one of the staple food items, the demand for processed fish in the country has increased drastically to about 60 percent during the fasting month.          "During the fasting month and in the face of the Lebaran festivities this year, the demand for processed fish products rose by about 50 to 60 percent," Director General for Processing and Marketing of Fishery Products of the Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Ministry (KKP) Saut Hutagalung remarked on Tuesday.          However, despite the increase in the demand for processed fishery products, there was no undue escalation in prices as they were under control and the increase only ranged between 20 and 30 percent.          Indonesia, which had a per capita fish consumption of 30.4 kilograms per annum in 2010 and has begun viewing its maritime sector as a key source of economic gain, has set a fish production target of about 21 million tons this year.

RI TARGETS US AS ITS PATIN EXPORT MARKET

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 11 (Antara) - In an effort to improve the welfare of its fish farmers, Indonesia is boosting its 'patin' catfish (Pangasius) production, stopping its imports of the commodity from Vietnam and aiming its exports to the United State market.          For the goals, the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs is targeting a production of over one million tons of patin fish this year and is developing patin cultured centers and patin fillet processing industries.           "We are encouraging patin producers in Indonesia to double their production. If the need for patin of  local market is already met, the next target would be the export market in the United States," Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Minister Sharif Cicip Sutarjo said when launching the first patin processing industry in Kasang Pudak Village,  Muarojambi District, Jambi province over the weekend.

FISHERIES SECTOR DEVELOPMENT GOING NOWHERE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 6 (ANTARA) - The plan of former maritime affairs and fisheries minister, Fadel Muhammad, to make Indonesia one of the major fish-producing countries in the world by 2014 has not borne fruit, according to a legislator.          "The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) has no clear plans yet on the development of the fishing industry. It uses the biggest portion of the allocated funds on pond fish cultivation and fish catching. The government has allocated Rp6 trillion in the 2012 state budget," said Herman Khaeron, the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission IV on fishery and agricultural affairs, on Thursday.          Until the first half of this year, he added, the ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries had not been able to start working on its vision of developing the country's fishing industry.          There has been no increase in investment in the fisheries sector, and the fish-processing industry is running short of raw materials.          "Due to the lack of raw materials, factories are able to operate at only about 40 percent to 60 percent of their maximum capacity," Herman said.          In 2009, the government (KKP) launched a fisheries development programme called "Minapolitan", which had the dual objective of increasing production in the marine and fisheries sector and improving people's income.          Dedy H. Sutisna, the director general of fishing, said the programme was 'not developed from scratch, but from already existing conditions', adding that it was yet to be fully operational. "The government will organize and complete it", he stated.          In the early days of the launch of the programme, the then maritime affairs and fisheries minister Fadel Muhammad had announced plans to increase the country's fish production to 300 percent by 2014.          "The target is to increase the production of fish by 353 percent. It sounds ambitious, but we will boost production from the fish cultivation sector," Fadel explained.          For the initial part of the programme, an additional budget of Rp1.6 trillion was allocated in order to increase the production by 27 percent in 2010.       Under the Minapolitan programme, Fadel had set the fish production target for 2011 at 12.26 million tonnes - an increase of 13 percent from the 2009 production of 10.85 million tonnes.          To achieve the target, the programme focused on the development of Minapolitan areas (fishery-based development areas in 41 Indonesian regions). In 2011, the ministry focused on the Minapolitan areas, which included nine fishing sites, 24 aquaculture sites, and eight central salt sites.          The three main activities of Minapolitan areas are pond fish cultivation, fish catching, and salt production. The Minapolitan regions in Indonesia include Belawan (North Sumatra), Sungai Liat (Bangka Belitung), Pelabuhan Ratu (East Java), Cilacap (Central Java), Bitung (North Sulawesi) and Ternate (North Maluku).          The regions that focused on pond fish cultivation were Muaro Jambi ( patin fish) and Kampar Riau (patin fish), Bogor in West Java (catfish), Banyumas in Central Java (gurame/carp fish), and Morowali in Central Sulawesi, Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara and Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara (seaweed).          Also, there are several regions in Java, such as Cirebon, Indramayu, Rembang, Sumenep, and Pamekasan, that are suitable for salt cultivation.          With the programme, Fadel claimed, the fish production target set for 2010 was achieved, both from fish-catching and aquaculture activities.          "Fish production from catch and aquaculture operations amounted to 10.83 million tonnes in 2010, surpassing the target of 10.76 million tons," he said.          However, Herman criticized the KKP ministry for failing to meet the infrastructure, logistics and raw materials requirements necessary for the development of the country's fishery industry.          "A major chunk of the Rp6 trillion budget for the fisheries sector in 2012 was allocated for pond fish cultivation, while the fish catching sector declined," he said.          The legislator added that the ministry should develop the sectors that were most important for the welfare of the local people, such as the development of fishery industry for coastal people.          "At present, the concept of developing fisheries as an industry has not yet been developed properly," Herman said.           In the meantime, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said the slow progress in the development of the fisheries sector in the country was mainly because of overlapping policies that created conflict among the ministries.           "We have the impression that the government has no master plan for the development of the maritime and fishing industry. It can be seen in the overlapping maritime laws. This leads to conflict of interest among government institutions," Sri Sultan explained.          He said the Indonesian maritime and fisheries sector could not develop because of the laws that hampered coordination among responsible authorities.          Besides the KKP, Sri Sultan pointed out, other institutions which were involved in maritime affairs included the Defence Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Industry Ministry, the Trade Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Public Works Ministry, the Forestry Ministry, the Environment Ministry, the National Police and the Navy.          He identified the industries with which KKP could have potential coordination problems ¿ industry ministry (in fish processing), trade ministry (in fish marketing), the forestry ministry (on management of marine parks), the transportation ministry (on issuance of licences for ports) and the energy and mineral resources ministry (on regulations).       "After all, the handling of maritime affairs cannot done efficiently when 13 government agencies are debating on 13 laws," Sri Sultan said.           Meanwhile, the current Maritime Affairs and Fisheries minister, Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, said his ministry would ¿reactivate the Indonesian Maritime Council  to ensure proper coordination among the ministries and institutions for the management of polices on maritime affairs and fisheries¿.***2*** (T.A014/INE/a014) (T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A/A014) 06-07-2012 21:21:08

FISHERY RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT NEEDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 20 (ANTARA) - The government needs to produce graduates who have entrepreneurship skill so that its target to multiply the country's fishery production and to increase it by about 300 percent in the coming five years from the current level of about 10 million tons per annum would be achieved.          To achieve the goal, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is cooperating with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) to build a first fishery institute in Indonesia.          "The KKP in cooperation with the ITB and IPB will build a fishery institute with the assistance of South Korea," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said   Wednesday.          Besides the plan to build a fishery institute, the ITB was also encouraged to produce its own graduates with maritime entrepreneurship.  "I hope that ITB would pioneer the production of graduates who have maritime entrepreneurship in order to help develop and utilize the country's maritime resources," the minister.          He said that the construction of the fishery institute would start in 2012. All funds that would be used to build the first fishery institute in Indonesia would come from South Korea. "The assistance worth Rp350 billion would fully be provided by South Korea," the minister said.          It would be located in Subang district, West Java. The location for the development of the fishery institute is being arranged.   "We are now arranging the location for the construction of the fishery institute," Fadel Muhmmad said.          In his public lecture at the ITB, the minister said he had met with ITB Rector Prof Akhmaloka and discussed the idea to produce maritime entrepreneurship. In order to achieve the goal, three programs have to be done.          "We have asked the rector to prepare three programs to support the maritime entrepreneurship," the minister said.          The first program is to produce the country's fish culture concept. The second program is the salt management with maritime technique, and the third one is to produce S2 graduates majoring in fisheries who are ready to be fielded.          The three programs for producing entrepreneurship in the maritime sector were expected to start this year.  "We are planning to start it this year," the minister said adding that to carry out this program his ministry has prepared a budget of Rp460 billion.          ITB Rector Akhmaloka hailed the minister's idea  to produce graduates with maritime entrepreneurship development skill.  "If 30 percent of ITB graduates have the maritime entrepreneurship skill, the vast maritime potentials of Indonesia could be further developed," he said.          After all, in an effort to increase the country's fish production,  the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is also focusing on the development of  Minapolitan areas (fishery-based development cities) in 41 Indonesian regions this year.          In line with Minapolitan program and maritime fishery development, the maritime affairs and fisheries minister had set a target for fish production in 2011 at 12.26 million tons. This figure constituted an increase of 13 percent of the 2009 production which was 10.85 million tons.          "In 2011, the ministry is focusing on formation of Minapolitan areas  consisting of nine fishing based sites, 24 aquaculture sites, and eight central salt sites," Fadel Muhammad said during the ministry's 2011 outlook meeting sometime ago.          The fish production target set for 2010 was achieved, both from catching and aqua-culturing activities. "Fish production from catching and culturing operations amounted to 10.83 million tons in 2010, surpassing the target of 10.76 million tons for the year," he said.          According to KKP Sokesman Yulistyo Mudho, the country's  per capita fish consumption in 2010 was recorded at 30.47 kg per annum, an  increase from 29.08 kg in 2009.  "We hope production increase would be followed by increase in per capita fish consumption," he said.          Yet, the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (KIARA) has criticized the government pro-export policy which it said had caused high fish imports to meet domestic fish consumption.          KIARA Secretary General Riza Damanik told a press conference on Wednesday that the export orientation of the national fishery policy had depleted fish raw materials that force domestic fish consumers and companies to depend on fish imports.          He said the request for the issuance of fish import licenses to import three million tons or about 60 percent of national fish catches over the past two months was proof of the increase fish imports.          A big import volume would of course have negative impact or could destroy national economy, particularly the economy of traditional fishermen, and that the ministry of trade and ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries did not need to take counter-productive steps in this case.          Optimizing and using existing fish resources and canceling raw fish exports in the coming ten years could help improve the fishery business in the country.          The KIARA secretary general said that the first step that could be taken was to set and maintain the needed national fish quota, including considering the increase in the fish consumption at home in the coming five years. With this way the domestic need for fish at home would guaranteed.***5*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/18:25/a014) 20-04-2011 18:27: